Western Colorado alliance members and staff — as well as representatives of our allied organizations and state and local governments — were in attendance when Colorado’s new Environmental Justice Advisory Board held a meeting on July 13 at Colorado Mountian College in Rifle.

Alan Muñoz, Regional Organizing Manager with Voces Unidas, led a discussion of environmental justice issues impacting Grand Valley residents. The discussion addressed the economic reality that “two different worlds” exist with the Roaring Fork and Grand Valleys — that of the tourists, and that of the people who are employed behind the scenes of the industry. The lack of affordable housing has led to the formation of a large, primarily Latino population commuting from the Grand Valley. Meanwhile, Latino voices are absent in decision-making spaces such as housing boards, and those spaces need to become more accessible. Muñoz supported authentic engagement between entities like the Environmental Justice Advisory Board (EJAB) and community partners and to “make sure folks know that they are working with, not working for.”

“Authentic engagement” with impacted communities became a major theme of the meeting.

Updates were presented on collaborations between the Environmental Justice Program and community organizations and members and other stakeholders to resolve the water quality issue at Apple Tree Mobile Home Park in New Castle, as well as progress reports from the Walking Mountains Science Center in Avon, a grant recipient from the Environmental Justice Board’s first grant funding cycle. The grant is being used to make the programming at the Science Center more inclusive of the Latino community.

Finally, the Environmental Justice Advisory Board wants to create awareness about their streamlined complaint submission process. If you have a complaint you’d like to register with the Environmental Justice Advisory Board, you can make it here. (But you can also email them with complaints, and in any language.)

Our own Garfield County community organizer Hanna Arauza spoke at the meeting. In discussing results our Alliance heard during our “deep listening” campaign this past year, Arauza said, ” It won’t be a surprise… to learn that the top issues that folks shared with me were concerns over the cost of living, lack of affordable housing, and lack of jobs that paid a living wage, let alone a thriving wage, in their hometowns. People can’t afford to live where they work.”